The Concerned Nigerians Group has called on the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately liberalise gun ownership laws, expose and prosecute financiers of terrorism, and reject any form of foreign military intervention in Nigeria.
In a press statement signed by its convener, Raphael Adebayo, the group warned that the country continues to lose countless lives daily to the “satanic advance of ethnoreligious terrorists and expansionists,” while the value of human life keeps diminishing amid widespread insecurity.
The statement condemned what it described as elitist propaganda and blackmail aimed at justifying or rationalising the killings of innocent citizens across the country.
“Nothing about these persistent terroristic onslaughts is normal nor acceptable,” the group said.
Adebayo criticised the Federal Government and the Nigerian military for failing to subdue insurgents despite years of military operations and funding.
“The Nigerian Armed Forces, despite their best efforts, have proved incapable of defeating this fundamentally homegrown threat to the Nigerian state and people. The title ‘Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces’ has become worthless under the present administration,” he said.
While acknowledging that the majority of victims of terrorist attacks are from Christian, animist, and other non-Muslim communities, the group cautioned against any foreign intervention, particularly a potential U.S. invasion, arguing that such actions would not benefit Nigeria or the African continent.
“External invasion under any guise—whether by the United States or any other great power—is not in the interest of ordinary Nigerians or Africa as a whole,” the group declared.
The Concerned Nigerians Group also urged the National Assembly to swiftly pass the Bill for an Act to Alter the Firearms Act (As Altered) to Provide for Self Defence and Personal Firearm Ownership and for Related Matters, sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko (Delta North).
According to the group, passing the bill would empower vulnerable communities and individuals to defend themselves against terrorists and criminals.
“Nigerian lawmakers must now swiftly pass the self-defence and firearms ownership regulation Bill. Liberalising gun rights in Nigeria will give at-risk citizens the capacity to protect their lives and property where the state has failed,” the statement added.
Furthermore, the group called for the immediate creation of a Joint Committee on Internal Security and Terrorist Enablers by both chambers of the National Assembly to uncover and prosecute those who fund or promote terrorism in Nigeria.
It specifically demanded a thorough investigation into Sheikh Ahmad Gumi and others who have allegedly provided moral or ideological support to terrorists.
“Both Houses of the National Assembly must urgently form a Joint Committee on Internal Security and Terrorist Enablers to expose and prosecute financiers of terrorism. Figures like Sheikh Ahmad Gumi and his associates must be interrogated and held accountable for their open sympathy toward those massacring innocent Nigerians,” Adebayo stated.
He concluded by stressing that national sovereignty comes with the duty to protect citizens and uphold territorial integrity.
“Sovereignty is a responsibility. Nigerian leaders must act swiftly and decisively to defend the nation before what remains of the country is weakened further by self-interested foreign powers,” the statement read.
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